


take me

by Acin_Grayson



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Gen, Kid Stephanie Brown, Kid Tim Drake, Trans Tim Drake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acin_Grayson/pseuds/Acin_Grayson
Summary: Tim walked in the door, stating "I'm home," by habit.He was delighted, as always, when he got a response.
Relationships: Crystal Brown & Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71
Collections: friday fab fic five song prompt spectacular fills





	take me

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Haz in the LS server for the inspiration!
> 
> Title and general vibe come from the song "Take Me To The Riot" by Stars
> 
> This AU is a (mostly) fun what-if where Steph and Tim met earlier and Crystal went 'wow is anyone going to parent that lonely child?' and didn't even wait for an answer.

Tim walked in the door, stating "I'm home," by habit.

He was delighted, as always, when he got a response.

"Hello, Tim," Crystal greeted from the kitchenette, a small smile on her face. "Welcome back."

"TIM!" Steph hollered, bolting from her room to slam into the smaller teen. She enveloped him in a crushing hug. It soothed Tim's frayed nerves, settling him back into his skin.

They stayed like that, wrapped around each other, for a long while. If Steph's shoulder got dampened, nobody needed to know.

Eventually she did pull away, squishing Tim's cheeks between her hands as she demanded, "Tell me everything! How was it? Where did they go this time? Why did they stay so long, for once?"

"Uhm. In order? It was ok, they went to Nicaragua, and they stayed because my english grade was shi- uh, crap."

(Crystal had been telling them to watch their language. She'd even instituted a swear jar, for which Tim's fines were much higher than Steph's. He'd thought it was unfair, at first, but then Crystal had showed him the difference between what she gave Stephanie for an allowance versus what the Drakes gave Tim.)

Steph scowled. "Did they lecture you?" Tim nodded, still sandwiched between her hands. "What gives them the right!" She releases him, turning to Crystal and gesturing widely in Tim's direction. "Can you believe they'd try and  _ lecture  _ him!"

"I know, dear," she says with half a frown on her lips. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. Tim," she looks the boy in the eye, "we'll work on your english grade. Bring your homework to the table, okay?"

"Okay," he dropped his duffel bag onto the floor, knowing he had plenty of time to unpack later.

That night, when Tim had claimed his spot on the top bunk and Stephanie was flopped on the bottom, sprawling to cover the whole mattress as usual, she asked him a question.

The lights were already out all around the apartment, passing cars casting odd shadows on the walls.

“Tim?” her voice floated up through the dark.

“Yeah?”

“Why do you go back?”

Tim goes still.

He knows his parents love him, is the thing. They  _ do _ .

They just don’t love  _ him. _

He can't say he was surprised by their reaction, they’d made their stance on the matter pretty clear beforehand.

He’d just hoped for something a little better than an order to be quiet, to stop shaming the Drake name.

Tim had hoped for better than them leaving, not for the first time, but for the longest by far.

It had all worked out for the best, at least. If they hadn’t left for so long he never would've tried following Batman and Robin around. If he’d never tried to follow them, he never would’ve met Stephanie.

Even if she  _ did _ introduce herself with a brick.

“I don’t know,” he says softly. It’s the truth, even if it shakes him to say.

He knows that parents can love their children and still hurt them, Arthur Brown was a perfect example. He  _ said _ he loved Steph and Crystal all the time but he’d hurt them all the time, too. It was why Tim and Steph had spoiled his plans, made sure that Batman found him, convinced Crystal to testify against him.

“Don’t you wish you could stay with us always?”

“Yeah,” Tim whispers. “Yeah I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Remember to take a break, drink some water, unclench your jaw <3
> 
> This is marked as unfinished because I'm still feeling the universe, but I have no exact plan as to how to continue.
> 
> So, I'm making this a sandbox! If you have ideas, please share! If you want to take this is a starting point and do some writing of your own? Go for it!


End file.
